Only the best nurses would be exported – Health Ministry

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has said that the government would do due diligence in the posting of nurses to work abroad if the agreement with partner countries is officially cemented.

“We would ensure that only the best and most experienced of Ghanaian nurses are sent outside as expatriates for healthcare services,” Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Health Minister noted.

The government recently announced future plans to export Ghanaian nurses abroad, arguing that the move was in tandem with the vision to create more job opportunities for the health professionals in foreign countries.

Mr Agyemang-Manu, who was addressing staff and students of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Kumasi, hinted that currently, there were about ninety (90) nursing and midwifery training institutions in the country.

The Minister is in the Ashanti Region on a four-day working visit to keep abreast with health development projects and programmes, as well as related challenges.

The first day of the visit saw the Minister touring facilities at the KATH, including the Oncology Directorate, where he inspected the newly installed ‘Lican’ machine, ultra-modern equipment for the treatment of cancer.

He was accompanied on a tour of the facility by Dr Oheneba Danso, the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, and Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, the Regional Health Director.

Mr Agyemang-Manu urged health workers to be committed to duty, saying, the government would continue to work assiduously in improving their living conditions.